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Georgia Tech strikes at Florida powerhouse

Florida’s Plant High School has been very good to UGA in recent years, sending the Bulldogs such players as Aaron Murray and Orson Charles.

Now Georgia Tech is getting one from the Tampa area powerhouse.

Plant defensive tackle Kyle Henderson committed to Georgia Tech over Wake Forest on Wednesday among 20 early scholarship offers, which also included Missouri, Oregon State and Boston College.

The 6-foot-2, 280-pound is rated as a 3-star and No. 183 overall prospect out of the state of Florida.

“No. 1, he’s a really, really strong kid who plays with a low center of gravity,” Plant coach Robert Weiner told the AJC. “So he is one of those powerful interior defensive linemen. He has got a good motor, and he was virtually unblockable last year in the state playoffs.

“I think he’s a steal of a recruit. Some people have shied away from him a little bit because he’s not (a) 6-3 kid. Some are worried about the size. For me, I like interior linemen who play the game lower. They are just stronger in the interior. I like the tall defensive ends that can get their hands up.

“Some people can’t offer a kid who is not over 6-1, but that’s OK. They missed out a really good football player.”

Henderson has a high ceiling of potential, and began to show flashes of it in one of last year’s playoff games with 12 tackles, including seven tackles for losses. He projects to play on the interior line at Georgia Tech.

“They like the physical attributes, along with the fact that Kyle is a student of the game,” Weiner said. “Georgia Tech values somebody who is able to play the game at a high level and with a high level of intelligence. Kyle is a guy who studies and understands the game. He has cerebral approach, along with a warrior mentality for a defensive lineman. I think that’s what put him in good standing with Georgia Tech.

“Another thing about Kyle is that he’s incredibly athletic. He’s like a skill player in a lineman’s body. I play him at fullback sometimes – not only as a power blocker, but I’ve also given him the ball to run with. It’s kind of scary. He’ll get the ball in the open field and a cornerback will think he’s going to tackle him.”

if low center of gravity, that's how Rock Perdoni was; Perdoni would get in between the OL and get in the backfield and tackle the ball carriers all the time; Perdoni played against all the big schools then, no patsys; we played Auburn, Tennessee, So Cal, Notre Dame, Georgia, FSU, SC, Clemson; Perdoni was better than all those teams' linemen who tried to block him; then the NFL wouldn't take him, said he was too short; that didn't matter when we played the big schools though; what's the difference in big schools' linemen and future NFL linemen? I don't see where there is any difference really

@KeepOnSmilingWetWillie That was the first thing I noticed also in the picture. But guess what Mom. Your kid is leaving the nest and if he is satisfied he has found the best place for himself, encourage and back him up.

@RuePaulJohnson I thought you were a big time Stanford fan. Are you moving on to UCLA now? They do have prettier girls there, although im not sure how they feel about guys like you who stalk teenagers on twitter.

Boy.....Rock Perdoni.....that takes one down a historical road. What a great football name that was. I believe Rock got an NFL tryout and did not make the cut. Big difference when it comes to undersized DL trying to make it in the NFL after having good college careers. Wonder what roads he took in life after Tech.